07/13/2026
Forty years ago, a chance meeting at the World Taxidermy Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, turned into a lifelong friendship. Kelly Galloup was guiding Michigan’s Pere Marquette River while I was chasing trout from North Alabama. We began trading fishing trips, stories, and a shared appreciation for wildlife art.
Kelly would go on to become one of fly fishing’s most recognized names, founding the Slide Inn on Montana’s Madison River. Those early trips opened my eyes to the magic of steelhead and trout.
Not long after, we brought our first fly-fishing painting into Seibels—Choosing a Bucktail by legendary illustrator C.E. Monroe. It was the beginning of a tradition that continues today through the remarkable work of Dirk Walker, Mary Beth Meeks, and other talented artists whose work celebrates the rivers, fish, and sporting life we love.
Fly fishing has never been just a hobby to us. It’s part of the soul of Seibels.